What is a Breathing Assessment?

What we do:

Visual:

Does the chest rise and fall together, does the ribcage flare, does the abdomen move outward, did the breath go deep into the torso, was there a rise in the shoulders, is the breath strained visually?

Breath holds:

We use two types of breath-holds to determine CO2 tolerance and a limited assessment of the diaphragm. 

Gas analysis using indirect calorimetry with heart-rate monitoring – Cadence, size, and gas content, 

Spirometry:

Measures the exhalation in size and force allowing us to determine whether an athlete will get hypoxic when training hard and much more.

Many factors impact breathing, including your surroundings, your emotions, positive or negative, stress, your past or future, your size, age, sex, and many others including your location on the globe or whether you are outside or not. Whether you can breathe out of your nose or not, the weather, etc. so many factors that we will not list them all. 

Breathing dysfunction is frequently associated with common musculoskeletal problems and is present in approximately 60% of active, healthy adults. It is also a contributing factor in movement dysfunction and can lead to decreased pain thresholds and impaired motor control and balance.

Functional Movement Systems has come up with a brilliant way to screen and assess whether breathing dysfunction is present. 

All of our breathing assessments are non-invasive and short allowing us to assess quickly and move on to coaching and directing your actions sooner. 

Once you have been assessed we will then go over what good breathing is and what it will look like for you. We will establish a roadmap that will help to reduce any unwanted adaptations and increase your productivity surrounding breathing. 

We will go over this map with you, setting expectations for your time between assessments. What items to focus on and how much energy should be spent towards what changes. 

We utilize lifestyle, nutrition, and fitness recommendations to affect your mechanics, physiology, your surroundings, and your state of mind. Utilizing whatever is the most realistic and/or effective options available to you. 

Once we are done with our assessment and education we will set up a follow-up appointment one to two months in advance to assess changes and reset your trajectory.

Why do you want to know how I am breathing? What are you looking to impact? 

By influencing the way you breathe, we can influence your state of being (sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system influence), the fuel source your body is choosing (carbs/fats), your physiology (rate of perceived exertion as well as preparedness/resiliency), and your mechanics (limiting ROM/strength). This is just the tip of the iceberg and it is all proven through good science. 

Through the process of becoming a more effective breather, we can change our life for the better. Breathing is an example of what we like to call low-hanging fruit. Zero-cost solutions to health. Things that any human can begin doing today that will impact their lives positively. Picking all of your own low-hanging fruit is how we can develop momentum towards our bigger goals, things that may feel out of reach right now. 

We will use your breath to identify your strengths and weaknesses, then use that knowledge to build a pathway towards your goal or goals.